This is a topic that does not get covered as much as it needs to. We all know that for healthy teeth and bones we need calcium; antioxidants help prevent many diseases; Vitamin A for the eyes; and Vitamin C for your immune system; but how many of us know what nutrients our skin needs?

Our skin is a remarkable organ. It literally keeps us from falling apart, but it also provides needed protection and keeps us nice and warm on the inside (even though we can get very cold on the outside). Our skin also provides us with the marvelous gift of touch – the fifth sense that helps us to connect and love and also keep our bodies safe.

Seeing as how our skin is so critically important to our physical well being, what are the things we can do to make sure that it is healthy and strong? And as an added benefit what can we do to make sure that it looks its best? Clue: the answers to these questions are the same!

Proper Nutrition for Healthy Skin

Our skin has two sides. The side which we all see and which is exposed to the world and the inside where new skin cells are generated. New skin cells take about 2-4 weeks to reach the surface and so what you see today is a reflection of your body’s ability (or inability) to create healthy skin cells over a month ago. So as you begin to take better care of yourself today remember to be patient as your system will require some time to show the results you are looking for. Beauty is really all about giving yourself the time and love and attention you need to be your best self, so start now by building these good habits and enjoy the benefits for the rest of your life!

Vitamins and Minerals

The first thing we want to look at is what your skin needs from a bodily nutrition standpoint. Here is a list of Vitamins and what they will do:

• Vitamin C – counter negative effects of sun exposure, reduce cell damage caused by free radicals, and protect collagen and elastin fibers (slow down aging)
• Vitamin E – much like vitamin C as well as reducing photo-damage and wrinkles while improving skin texture
• Vitamin A – critical for the maintenance and repair of the dermal and epidermal layers
• Vitamin K – reduces circles under eyes and skin bruising
• Vitamin B complex – Biotin is the most important and helps not only with the formation of healthy skin cells but nails and hair too! Niacin helps with moisture retention and helps to even out skin tones.

Now for a list of important minerals:

• Selenium – protects against sun damage, reduce burning, and lower risk of skin cancer
• Zinc – helps to limit oily skin and clear blemishes

I will be posting some great information on the best sources for these nutrients and even some great meals and snacks that are rich with these Vitamins and Minerals. You will see that the best strategy is to incorporate these into your diet, supplementation, and skin care regiments (topical nourishing of the skin is important too).

Hydration

This is HUGE, it makes such a big difference to your skin to keep your body properly hydrated. This will be a recurring topic because it is so important.

How much water is enough?

So here it is. We need to replace 3 Liters of water each day. If we are eating properly then we will consume 1 Liter in our food and will need to supplement the other 2 Liters by drinking. Water is always the best way to go – try to kick the coping habits (coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, and energy drinks).

Here’s the math:
1/2 a gallon = 64 oz = 8 x 8oz glasses

This is why you hear the 8 glasses concept so much; however, this is the MINIMUM amount you need. Depending on your level of activity and the climate you live in you will probably need much more than this. So listen to your body and try to push yourself a little more each day until you are drinking just the amount you need. A good place to start is to drink 1oz for every 1.5lb of body weight.

If you weigh:
105lbs = drink 70oz > 9 glasses/day
135lbs = drink 90oz > 11 glasses/day
155lbs = drink 105oz > 13 glasses/day
and so forth.

What kind of water is good?

Pure water. Whatever the source it needs to be pure. Make sure your tap water is pure and if not (which for many of us it isn’t) then have a good filtration system for your drinking water. It would also be helpful to have a good filtration system for your bathing and washing water too, but I’ll address that more in the next post.

Keeping the Body Healthy

You need your digestive system and circulation system functioning properly and your skin functioning optimally too. The best way to do this is to limit your toxicity intake and optimize your bodies processing systems. This is another reason for proper hydration, but also includes proper exercise and rest.

Your body is truly a remarkable machine and if you take care of it and don’t look for shortcuts, if you focus on your overall health then natural beauty and that healthy feeling and radiant look will come as a natural consequence. So go be your best you and find your Beauty through Balance!

• Click one of the Social Hearts below the contest post to share with your social networks
• Link to this page from your blog
• Tell your friends to visit facebook.com/KariRomney

If you want to link to it on your blog use this code for a text link:
<a href="http://bit.ly/conversationheartcontest"/>Win a Free Facial</a>

Or add an image like this one:

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Or simlply copy this link: http://bit.ly/conversationheartcontest

The Prize – A FREE FACIAL

That’s right a free $90 Facial for Valentines! It’s that time of year again, the season of LOVE…with Valentine’s coming up in a few days we are rolling out a little contest for everyone…Nothing wrong w/ showing ourselves some of that love by pampering our skin!

Details on the Facial Treatment

Let’s just say you deserve it and I want to share it. This month I’m featuring the LOVE FACIAL! A 30 minute luxurious facial w/ the revolutionary HydraFacial!… This facial targets fine lines, wrinkles, acne-prone or oily skin, hyperpigmentation, sun damage, brown spots and more. You’ll see immediate results — and best of all, there’s no discomfort, downtime or irritation, even for sensitive skin! The HydraFacial cleanses, exfoliates dead skin cells and extracts impurities while simultaneously restoring skin hydration, leaving skin more supple and vibrant! (A $90 VALUE!)

How to Win

Score the most points

For each one of these steps you score one point:

• Like our Facebook Page –> Click Here and then Click the LIKE button
• Sign up for our Newsletter – Click Here
• Leave a reply at the bottom of this page with your favorite conversation heart saying – ie. Be Mine, Kiss Me, U-R Cool, Sure Love, etc.

Bonus Points!

Tell someone about this post and you will get a point for everyone who shares their favorite conversation heart! Make sure to let us know who your friends are (comment on their post or send an email to contest@kariromney.com no later than 5pm MST on Feb 14, 2011)

Click Here for Secret Tips on How to Share and Win

Two Winners

On Valentine’s Day we will award the highest point earner with a free facial.

Then we will randomly select from all the remaining entries a second winner. Remember every point you earn is an additional entry in the contest!

Winners will be notified by email on February 14th

Good Luck!

We are no different, there is a balance of things we should leave alone and things we should take careful time to cultivate. If you close your eyes and look inside your soul you can begin to sort out these different things. The world constantly blares images and message of what is unnatural. The balance between these two things is almost completely inverted by our media and the minds of many “experts.” Within us we have the answers and we know what it is that we can do to create true beauty in ourselves.

I look forward to further exploring this topic with you and discovering truth as it pertains to becoming beautiful as God intends us to be. Please feel free to share your thoughts and feelings below or to share this with others.

Simple Ways to Be Stress Free

Here is a brief list of a few ways to reduce stress in your life and become happier, healthier, and definitely more beautiful:

• Get Proper Sleep
• Exercise
• Write down some of the things that are wonderful in your life – each day
• Meditate – learn to channel your thoughts productively
• Serve others
• Love others
• Get your money in control! – improve income and budget expenses
• Spend more quality time with your man
• Stop blaming yourself
• Don’t try to save the world all in one day
• Stop taking yourself so seriously
• Laugh…a lot

I could go on, but this is a good place to start. Now so that you don’t get stressed out about this list – just pick one of these things and focus on it for a week. Then do the same thing next week. Make this the year that you get stress out of your life for good! After doing this for a year when something genuinely stressful happens you will be able to handle it with much more grace and beauty

There are too many health benefits to list here, but for the sake of what we typically discuss I will go over some of the aesthetic benefits.

Removal of Toxins

First off there are many impurities and toxins that get into the body. The body has several methods of isolating, eliminating, and removing these substances. Secretions through the dermal layer have the ability to help remove toxins from the body as a secondary method to help the body’s primary waste removal system when it isn’t working up to par (I won’t go into details right now!). The breakouts and oily skin that many women try to cover up or medicate can many times be eliminated by aiding the primary system. One of the more effective ways of helping this along is ample hydration.

Moisturizing

Soft healthy skin is only possible if your body has enough moisture to go around. By drinking sufficient quantities of water each day your skin will not become dehydrated and you will keep it healthy and strong.

The Glistening Beauty

During a good workout women can work up a good sweat. Now the more hydrated you are the more positive benefits this will have on your skin. If you are not drinking enough water you will lose many of these benefits. So go treat yourself to a big glass of water and a nice invigorating workout!

Taking good care of you skin is essential to good health and to being your most beautiful self. Here is a short list of things to consider toward good skin health:

• Proper nutrition
• Cleanliness
• Moisturizing
• Ex-foliation
• Regular massage
• and Healthy Makeup

I will cover each one of these in more depth in future posts but for now I just wanted to get all of you thinking about these different topics.

Thank you for all your support!